Jill Waters is the winner of the Short Story category in the 2021 Hysteria Writing Competition. You can find her story, along with the other finalists from each category in the Hysteria 8 anthology.
‘Dermot, Dermot’. I tug at his shirt urgently, trying to get his attention. ‘Yes?’ He glances at me and smiles. ‘Dermot, what if I told you all this,’ I wave my arms around expansively to indicate the enormity of what I’m about to say, ‘is not real, that it’s all just a dream.’
Sitting on the 07.32 from Pen Mill going to a meeting in Bristol I marvel at the things people still do to earn a living and count myself lucky to work at home. I never endure the daily commute amongst people intent only on getting to work (and back again). On the infrequent occasions, I…
It was the cards I noticed first this morning. Each one neatly placed on the windowsill. Carefully butted up against the thin line of mastic securing glass into frame; they were spaced almost exactly it seemed, but without the benefit of a ruler I couldn’t be sure.
‘Hands up if you can tell me what “be the change” means?’ Lucy looked around the class trying to size up those most likely to answer. They looked away, pretending to write something in their notebooks.
Kay sat on the step of her pottery studio cradling a cup of tea when she felt a nudge on her arm as Pansy, her Nan’s Yorkshire Terrier, rushed past her and began doing joyful circuits of the lawn. Kay had been apprehensive about taking Pansy in, but things had happened so quickly after Nan’s…
‘Are you familiar with her work?’ asks someone standing near me. I turn from studying the painting, but he’s already moved on, pausing for an obligatory few seconds in front of each exhibit.
This time, short stories – for the Sixth International Hysteria Writing Competition, that means a story with the very loose theme “things of interest to women.” Oh, and a maximum of two thousand words.
“You were never really on board with the plan, were you?” Ruth is nothing if not direct. My daughter-in-law and I haven’t enjoyed a close relationship, but there’s always been a healthy respect between us, and we cut each other a lot of slack. She is, as usual, correct in her assumption.
The winner of our short story category in the Hysteria Writing Competition 2015 was Shauna Mackay with her story called No Odysseus.
